The Writing Adventures of The Undead Duo–Julie Hutchings and Kristen Strassel

I Am The Best She Claimed And More/A Battle Scarred Conquistador

Today’s Brew: What is the legal blood coffee content level?

by Kristen

Those lyrics make me picture a tanned, dusty abdomen dewy with sweat. The kind that’s defined and sinewy by having to fight for everything you have. In my mind’s eye, I reach out to delicately trace along the slightly raised, pinkish lines, the newly healed skin telling its own unique story.

And that’s before I know it’s a Thirty Seconds To Mars song.

If you’re a heterosexual woman in your twenties or thirties and the words “Jared Leto” don’t get your spidey sense prickling, I suggest you have your pulse checked. You might have left him behind, trapped in your 90’s memories as Jordan Catalano. Let me tell you, NO ONE leans against a locker like Jordan Catalano.

But that’s not important right now.

This post isn’t about Jordan Catalano, it’s about Jared Leto. That voice. I bring up My So Called Life only to reference the episode when Rayanne joins the Frozen Embryos, has stage fright, so Jordan Catalano takes over singing for her. You know what that voice sounds like. Velvety and seductive like a lover you don’t quite get to see in the dark, but you feel no shame from this encounter because something like that can’t possibly be wrong.

Chatting with Melissa Petreshock this morning on Twitter, she mentioned Jared considered himself a vampire. Claimed to drink blood to keep himself young. Rock Stars. Vampires. You know, the very thing I write books about? Like I needed another reason to swoon over this man or his band.

Even though Jared has not directly influenced any of my characters, YET, he perfectly fits the prototype of a Tristan or a Ryder. He hates being known as just a pretty face. He wants to explore his artistry without the confines of what the industry or the powers that be expect of him. He’s extremely talented. And he draws you in without you even realizing he’s got you.

To me, that’s where the seduction of a musician and a vampire intertwine. The lure. The offer of something no one else can provide you with. The escape from every day. The promise of a moment in time being frozen forever.